Industry & Commerce Minister Sonia Guzman says that the Free Trade Agreement being negotiated in Puerto Rico this week with the United States government is a step forward from trade concessions the Dominican Republic currently enjoys under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). Guzman explained that the US negotiators are wiilling to open duty-free markets to 99% of Dominican exports, which outdoes the present 88% under the CBI. She compared this to the 70% and 80% access granted to Central American nations under CAFTA. “It is the most generous offer the United States has made to any country,” said Guzman. Economic news analysts say that the US needs Dominican endorsement to the FTA in order to improve chances for the FTA with Central America (CAFTA) to pass in the US Congress prior to the US electoral period. The plan is to dock the concessions agreed to by both parties under the US-DR Free Trade Agreement to what had been previously arranged with Central American nations.
In exchange, among other concessions, the US wants to have free access to duty-free sales of rice, beans, poultry, sugar, corn, milk, garlic and onions in Dominican markets. The Dominican government has favored Dominican producers in the past by upholding high taxes on imports. Guzman, as reported in El Caribe, explained that the negotiations are focusing on the gradual elimination of tariffs that would be assigned to certain imports for which Dominican companies want protection to continue. The Dominican Republic is represented by 74 government negotiators in Puerto Rico, and 52 private-sector representatives, while the US has 34 government negotiators. The discussions are taking place at the San Juan Wyndham Hotel this week, with a final round scheduled for 12-15 March in Washington, D.C.